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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Job probably lived during the patriarchal period of biblical history, yet some of his insight far exceeds the “ordinary” knowledge of the time. Today’s message treats one passage where he spoke things that were impossible to know except by Divine revelation. Consider the following text: “Your hands have made me and fashioned me, An intricate unity.” (Job 10.8a; NKJV).
Some translations almost totally miss an important part of this verse. They truncate the wording to read things like, “Your hands shaped me and made me” (NIV) or, “Your hands fashioned and made me altogether.” (NASV). The NKJV is unique in this reading although the translators of the King James Version and the American Standard Version knew that the verse said more than modern translations reveal.
Job not only recognized God as his Creator, he also recognized the intricate unity that was involved in and throughout his entire being. I do not profess to know exactly that to which Job referred, but other commentators also realized the significance of his words. Albert Barnes speaks of the fact that this verse “…has the notion of oneness, or union. It may refer to the oneness of the man—the making of one from the apparently discordant materials, and the compact form in which the body, though composed of bones, and sinews, and blood-vessels, is constructed.”
Of course Barnes spoke long before modern science unlocked some of the intricate human mysteries of which we are now aware. We now know that every cell of the human body is a miniscule “factory” that has a vital function to support the system in which it lives. The cell is not merely an isolated building block; it is a contributor to the well-being of the whole body, taking its orders from headquarters and delivering its goods and services as it is directed.
We also know about the human genome and the role that chromosomes play in genetics and human development. Only recently have these intricacies begun to be unlocked. While I do not claim that Job foresaw these things, it is easy to see when one analyzes today’s focus verse that he meant more than just the fact that God alone had made him! He saw, as did the Psalmist, “For You [God] formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139.13-14). Indeed, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
When the concordant elements of the human body turn discordant, disease is present. The entirety of the human organism strives for unity within. Of course, some of the most debilitating and lethal diseases interrupt the harmony that Creator God designed within our bodies. These diseases wreak havoc in the human population. Some of these diseases include Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer, Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and a multitude of other maladies that attack the harmony that God created in us at the beginning. Millions and billions of dollars are spent every year to find cures or preventative measures to stave off the degenerating condition of the human race; these diseases were not present at the time God made man, but have become evident only since the fall of man and his expulsion from the original perfect environment in which he was placed. For each disease that is conquered, one equally or more loathsome appears.
Job was not an ordinary man, and this was true in many, many ways. In addition to being a just and patient man, he also possessed the wisdom that God imparted to certain special men. We call these men prophets because they were inspired of God. Their words were and still are true. Your hands have made me!
Questions:
1. What is the significance of the “intricate unity” with which the human being is made?
2. Does this intricate unity actually exist? If yes, how can random chance (evolution) be responsible for this fact?
3. According to Psalm 139, when or at what stage of development did God get involved in David's life?
4. If His hands indeed made us, in the absolute sense of what do we have to boast? Even if we develop the potential with which He endowed us, shouldn't He receive all the glory? Why or why not?
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